Not only is this pragmatic, for all the obvious reasons, but it’s a very clever political trap for Republicans. They’ll scream, for sure. But, the moment they do the response can do even more damage to them than they’ve already got in store.

The response is really simple – ‘you Republicans have done everything possible to deny Americans access to affordable health care and you’re even willing to prevent folk who want it from being able to complete the application process.’

They have been terrible Chips. All of this while Japan & China fight over islands and sink fishing ships….. it has gotten ugly…. hopefully President Obama mediating will create a thaw. We will have a better understanding of the state of play when PBO visits the region in April for ASEAN I believe.

Folks still do not understand….the ACA is dictates the process by which one can attain healthcare…thru either State or Federal exchanges….unless you are signing up for Medicaid expansion….the insurance plans are private companies…..

In my response, I gave him the benefit of the doubt, and attributed his lashing out on Twitter to #jetlag or #Romnesia.

However, he knew full well when he said it that he was comparing NSA concerns as equivalent to the concerns that Europeans had about Nazi Germany.

He is a low-life scum who only “knows” the horserace aspect of politics. He’s a terrible interviewer and only cozies up to fellow journos. The worst thing about him though, is that he serves as role model for Luke Russert, who strives to follow in upChuck’s footsteps instead of his beloved father.

No one “who voted” on that ludicrous Crimean referendum actually thought through the consequences of their actions. Their lives will be harder and their futures bleaker and they won’t know what hit them.

“But the election of Pope Francis last March seemed to breathe new life into the Catholic Church and, potentially, into the relationship between Mr. Obama and the institution that gave him his start. While far from an ideological progressive, Francis does sometimes appear cloaked in Cardinal Bernardin’s “seamless garment.” His de-emphasis of issues like abortion and same-sex marriage and his championing of the poor and vulnerable — articulated in his mission statement, “The Joy of the Gospel” — have impressed a second-term president who argues that income inequality undermines human dignity. “Whether you call that the ‘seamless garment’ or ‘the joy of the Gospel’ or what, I’ve said to the president I consider that a pretty Catholic way of looking at the world,” said Denis McDonough, the White House chief of staff, who is Roman Catholic. Mr. McDonough added that the community-organizer-turned-president had expressed admiration to him about “how important it is for the Holy Father to be so in the community..

Last month, Catholic activists made their case for social justice on Capitol Hill. Afterward, relaxing over beers and a buffet in the Russell Senate Office Building, they discussed whether Cardinal George, who is retiring as archbishop of Chicago, would be replaced by Archbishop Gregory, who helped secure Mr. Obama’s church grant application in the 1980s. Among them was Mr. Lyke, the man who had received coaching from Mr. Obama years earlier in the basement of Holy Name Cathedral. He characterized Francis and Mr. Obama as a match made in heaven……”

Hi, everyone! Hope you had a great day! I actually woke up an hour or so ago. Had some minor surgery today at the cancer center. They inserted a port into the right side of my chest. It’s to make it easier to draw blood and give me chemo without destroying the veins in my arms. They were definitely overused. It’s not supposed to be visible if you look at it with naked eye. There’s a little bandage on it so I’ll see how true that is tomorrow.

I was drugged up, hungry and kind of miserable so I came home and took a nap.

This is so brilliant: here is the King of Belgium, at the Airport, greeting our President Obama! So fitting, so respectful. Eat it, MSM. We will go around your smokescreen each and every freaking day!!

We are so blessed to have President Obama as our beloved President. I am so happy that others see his heart and love that he has for all humanity. I truly believe, that with all the hate that the MSM and repukes throw at him, God is not through with him yet and will use him for more greatness before he leaves office. They haven’t seen anything yet………

It is not the critic who counts, nor the man
who points out how the strong man stumbled, or
where the doer of deeds could have done them
better.

The credit belongs to the man who is
actually in the arena, whose face is marred by
dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly;
who errs and comes short again and again; who
knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; who
spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the
best, knows in the end the triumph of high
achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails,
at least fails while daring greatly, so that his
place shall never be with those timid souls who
know neither victory nor defeat.

What we are seeing this week, I believe, this group of world leaders recognizing PBO as their leader in some/many ways. I realize this is his initiative, and they all agreed to make it work, and have taken the steps to make it so, according to their own powers and abilities. But the entire world will benefit. It is evident in the deference they all show to him, that almost unanimously President Obama is held in highest regard and esteem. To witness our world leaders signing on to a pact which will make such an enormous difference to all life forms going forward, is of no small significance. It is because PBO never makes it about himself, it is because he works from the Heart, and recognizes the Heart in all Others he meets, there is the place of True Meeting, and Equality. He knows better than many that he cannot do it alone, that each element is a vital proponent of achieving the goal of World Peace. It is his innate level of Goodwill to All which creates the magnetic field for this kind of joined venture among humans.

Yes indeed! His life’s calling, has always been, and I believe it will always be about others. This is where our “true blessings” come from; caring for humanity without looking for the accolades. This, for me, is the highest form of living.

I shouldn’t laugh because they’re supposed to be on serious duty but dudes, drink in your hotel room. It’s always guys who can’t keep their penises in their pants – Cartagena, Colombia and now can’t handle their drink. If you don’t have a sober buddy with you, on such a serious duty, then bro, don’t get wasted.

Secret Service agents with Obama are sent home from Netherlands after night of drinking. One was passed out in hotel. http://t.co/EEjhhpt6oB

President Vladimir Putin overplayed his hand when he invaded Crimea. This unprovoked and illegal aggression was a throwback to the Soviet combination of megalomania and inferiority complex. It was reminiscent of the Kremlin’s decision in December 1979 to invade Afghanistan, which in hindsight marked the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union.

Putin has demolished the post-Cold War order in an attempt to serve his own political interests. But Russia will suffer from his shortsighted blitzkrieg.

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An overlooked fact is that 40 percent of Ukraine’s exports to Russia consist of machinery and armaments. Motor Sich in Zaporozhe produces all of Russia’s helicopter engines, Yuzhmash in Dnipropetrovsk manufactures carrier rockets and missiles and Antonov makes planes in Kiev. The Russian military-industrial complex will be in great trouble without these imports. Meanwhile, Western countries are quickly cutting arms deliveries to Russia as part of their sanctions.

Potentially, Russia’s greatest weakness is its legal system. The West is likely to treat the Kremlin, Putin’s cronies and large state corporations as a law enforcement problem suspected of corruption and money laundering. The international exposure of the gross enrichment of the Kremlin and its cronies could have quite an illuminating effect on Russians.

Each time I have visited Belgium I have found the people delightful, friendly and helpful…….and the food is great! You should see the breakfast buffets in Belgian hotels! Not the pitiful little offerings like Comfort Suite! Beautiful food, and plenty of it.

My daughter and I flew to Brussels then took the train to France. The Brussels airport is great. Customs was easy and young ladies were standing by with packets of maps and information about Brussels, smiling and welcoming us to Brussels. So different from most places! The man in passport control told me to be sure to have fun while in Belgium. My daughter found it an easy place to start using her French before she got to France. Kind of easing into the language experience.

If you have seen Monuments Men, the two pieces featured were from Belgium: the altar triptych from Ghent, and the Michaelangelo Madonna in Bruges, which we saw three years ago. It is truly breathtaking and heartbreaking. It is the only Michaelangelo outside of Italy. We loved it.

I haven’t had quite as much exposure as you in Belgium – only spending weekends there while working in the Netherlands. But, I absolutely loved the people, the food, the beauty. Really stunning! The real Belgian waffles, the beer, the lovely canals. Bruges was breathtaking! Clearly, I need to head to Europe soon for a recap…

Another Bloomberg Editor Explains Why He Has Resigned, Over Its China Coverage

Four months ago, The New York Times ran a big story contending that Bloomberg editors had quashed an investigative report about corruption among leaders in China. The Times story was clearly based on informed comment from people inside Bloomberg who were unhappy about the result. It said that higher-ups at Bloomberg were worried that the story would hurt the company’s sales of financial terminals—the mainstay of its business—inside China, since the main purchasers would be directly or indirectly subject to government control.

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Ren Richardson responding to James Fallows’ question: Business and political power are inextricably linked everywhere. That’s especially so in China, where both are largely in the hands of a single, unelected political party that forbids the free flow of information and ideas and operates behind a veil of secrecy. Lack of transparency and accountability fuel rampant corruption, human rights abuses and environmental crimes. As China goes global, those values and practices are in danger of gaining currency elsewhere.

The question is a bigger one for society as a whole. What value do we place on investigative journalism?”

First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Ms. Natalia Galibarenko met Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus in Ukraine Mr. Valentin Velichko

On March 25, 2014 First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Ms. Natalia Galibarenko met Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus in Ukraine Mr. Valentin Velichko.

Ambassador was informed about the position of Ukraine on the situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, as well as the unlawful actions of the Russian Federation.

It was emphasized that the Republic of Belarus is expected to pursue the universally acknowledged principles of international law, territorial integrity and inviolability of state borders of Ukraine, while making its assessment of the situation in Ukraine.

The perspectives of Ukraine-Belarus relations in the nearest future, as well as the schedule of bilateral contacts were also discussed.